Follow and Emulate the Shepherd

John 10:27 NKJV - My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

In Jesus’ day most people easily understood the role of a shepherd with their sheep. In today’s world where most of us live in cities and bustle to and from work, school, and errands, we may not even think about farm animals and how that life really is. However, we have stories that help us understand and I have a couple from people I know who herd sheep.

The best news is the Shepherd knows His sheep. Jesus knows you inside and out. He knows what it will take for us to learn the right way to follow Him. He will not lead us astray and will be right there when we get lost.

Any good shepherd will have sheep that quickly learn he is there to protect them and help them. They will answer when they hear him and follow accordingly. However, they will not always do this correctly or as assuredly if the circumstances make things rough. For example, one shepherd had her sheep get stuck out in the field due to a freak snowstorm. They would not come down the field towards her so she trekked up to them. The more trusting of the herd started moving towards her before she got to them and then the rest fell into line. They went single file across the field in her path.

We are like the sheep and are at different levels of understanding and trust with God. There is nothing wrong with this because we all started out from the beginning. Some of us will be more willing to step out in the midst of turmoil towards the shepherd than others will. Peter was the only one that climbed out of the boat to walk on the water during a storm since Jesus said to come.

In following we learn how to emulate the shepherd. As our trust in Him grows, so does our willingness to try new things he reveals.

One of the shepherds I know was shocked to find her sheep emulating her one day. She plucks up milkweed she finds in the pasture so it won’t go to seed and take over. Sheep know not to eat it and will graze around it. On this one particular day she realized the sheep were following her around the field. As she watched they were biting off the milkweed and dropping it on the ground like she had been doing.

We should be like these sheep and doing our best to emulate our Shepherd, Jesus Christ. We should be like David, who was the shepherd of his father’s sheep growing up. Psalm 23, written by David, starts with, “The Lord is my shepherd…” He knew to trust God even when he went astray and came back due to correction.

Who is your shepherd? If Jesus is your shepherd, do you trust Him enough to follow through anything?

Pride Promotes Strife

James 4:1-6 NKJV

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

"God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble."  

Pride makes us want to promote ourselves rather than God. This causes fights even among Christians when we put our desires first. We get aggressive in what we want and are not happy until we have it. This is not the way we get what we truly need.

We get what God knows is best if we pray to Him. Do not do it to get what you want. God might have a better idea. Our motives should align with his when we ask and He will give us what we truly need. He will even tell you if you are not getting it or if something better is coming if we have some patience. There is nothing wrong with wanting things, but make sure your desires are not for self-gratification or for appearances.

The best way to curb the evil desires that occur due to pride is to learn humility. Pride makes us self-centered while humility can allow us to be other-centered. When we are humble God can then work wonders through us that can help many and He does reward us for doing so. We won’t need the latest and greatest car, gadget, whatever, but will want to spread the Good News and help others instead.

Which would you prefer to step into the future as: the prideful, selfish you that can so easily blow up when things go wrong and you don’t get what you want? Or the one who has God on their side and find even greater fulfillment doing as God wants with all your needs met? I’ve been on both sides of this and I’ll stick to doing it God’s way.